"Mad Max" Leads the Critics Choice Award Nominations

Hot off of its impressive streak with the LA critics and the Golden Globes, "Mad Max" was nominated for an astounding 13 nominations. A film hasn't dominated the nominations this hard since "Black Swan" won 12 nominations back in 2010.

Other films with a strong showing were "Carol" and "The Martian" (9), while there was definitely some substantial support for "Room," "Spotlight" and "Bridge of Spies." Both Bryan Cranston and Helen Mirren nabbed nominations for "Tumbo," continuing off of their surprise success with both the SAGS and Globes last week. It would seem as if they're on track to repeat with Oscar, though I personally think the Academy will ultimately pass on them.

See the full list of nominations below. The award will air on January 17.

5 Favorite Golden Globe Nominations

As you may have heard, the annual Golden Globe nominations were announced yesterday, for better or worse depending on who you've been rooting for this awards season.

One thing I'll say, is that the Golden Globes are always the most exciting, bat crazy awards show. They've long eclipsed the Screen Actors Guild and Emmys in relevancy, and honestly, have some better choices than the Oscars in most cases. Last year they made history for nominating the incredible Ava DuVernay for Best Director, the first black woman ever nominated for the award. Oscar did not follow suit. In fact, if you look at their slate of nominees and winners last year, a lot of them are better than what Oscar ultimately picked.

This year's awards race is honestly all over the place, and while the Globes did a better job than SAG at forming a consensus, I still couldn't tell you what films have the edge at this point. But confusion aside, there are some really good nominations here, five of which really stood out to me.

Reacting To The Golden Globe Nominations

I've said it once and I'll say it again: It's a truly strange year. If you were to ask me which film had the edge after yesterday's SAG announcement and now the Globes, I still couldn't give you a confident guess.

"Trumbo" led yesterday's SAG nominations, the strangest occurrence I've ever seen. Today, "Carol" led the Golden Globe nominations, which is less strange, though still doesn't mean it's our frontrunner. The Globes have a long history with Harvey Weinstein, as every awards show does, so I don't know whether to chalk it up to the film's overall excellence or their affinity for Weinstein.

Similarly, "Brooklyn" a film I thought was universally beloved was not embraced as heavily here. "Room" on the other hand, showed some surprising strength, which could be good news for Brie Larson. Saoirse Ronan's surge in Best Actress critics' awards last week should not be overlooked, but if Larson starts winning, then look out.

Take a look at the full list of nominations below.

Screen Actor's Guild Award Nominations

This year's SAG nominations... are all over the place. Wow, I'm not even sure where some of the voters pulled some of these nominees out from.

According to In Contention's Kris Tapley, the strangeness of these nominations might have to do with the incredibly early deadline voters were sidelined with this year, though I'm still puzzled. Absolutely no love for Ridley Scott's, "The Martian" (though that will surely change come tomorrow's announcement from the Golden Globes), and a complete last minute surge from Helen Mirren, with TWO nominations for utterly forgettable roles.

"Spotlight" only managed two nominations: one in the predicted ensemble category, and another for Rachel McAdams who has been largely absent from precursor awards thus far. "Trumbo," featuring Mirren and Bryan Cranston, received three nominations after being critically shrugged off and forgotten about.

"Room" didn't manage an ensemble nomination, but it did land two for Brie Larson and Jacob Tremblay. The latter really needed this to be taken seriously in a very crowded field. If he gets in tomorrow with the Golden Globes, I think he's in for an Oscar nomination. And "Beasts of No Nation" showed strength as well. Netflix must be breathing a sigh of relief. Again, if it shows up tomorrow with the Globes, it should be taken seriously as a viable contender.

I think a lot of these nominations are largely irrelevant, however, and based purely on early buzz and the campaigning.

See the full list of nominees below.

Second Round of Critics' Awards: Consensus Forming (Kind Of)

The Boston, Los Angeles and New York Online critics all revealed the winners of their awards today. This follows the announcements from the National Board of Review, New York Film Critics Circle and the Gotham Awards.

There's no one film that's dominating the Best Picture prizes in the way that "Boyhood" did last year, but it's worth noting that "Carol" cleaned up with the NYFCC, and "Mad Max" is finding wide support despite being a summer film. If there's anything these critics prizes are telling us, it's that there's a lot of love for a lot of different films. It's still anyone's game to win at this point.

Take a look at the winners from all three groups below.

"Tangerine" Reminds Us That Film Can Still Be Groundbreaking

There's a lot of talk about "Tangerine." From the moment it premiered at Sundance earlier this year, it instantly became known as 'the movie that was shot on entirely on an iPhone.' Director/Writer/Producer Sean S. Baker did indeed film the movie using an iPhone, three of them to be exact; The film was made for only $100,000 and Baker used a Mac Book's Final Cut Pro to edit the project.

Now, the film has been kicking up awards chatter. "Orange Is The New Black" star and everywoman Laverne Cox hosted a screening of the film this past week (one that I was invited to, but ultimately could not attend) for voters of the Academy Awards. The goal? To get the film's stars Mya Taylor and Kiki Rodriguez some awards buzz. The two just made history as the first trans actresses to be nominated for Independent Spirt Awards, while Taylor won the Gotham Award for Breakthrough Performance this past week.

So yes, there's a lot of talk, all of it is incredibly deserved. "Tangerine" is not only one of the best movies you'll see this year, but it's one of the best indie films to be released in some time. In a world filled with films like "Gravity" and a thousand super hero movies, this tiny film reminds us all that there's still actual magic left in the medium of film.

First Round of Industry & Critics' Awards: What Do They Tell Us?

It's that time of the year. After consistent guessing and predicting, we are finally starting to get a look at what films truly have the heat going into the Oscar race... at least for right now.

With the Independent Spirit Awards announcing their nominees last week, the Gotham Awards awarding their winners a few days ago, and now announcements from The National Board of Review and The New York Film Critics Circle, things are starting to fall in place... well sort of.

To be fair, these precursors do not decide the Oscars. If you remember back in 2010 when "The Social Network" won every critics award for Best Picture there was, and then went on to lose the Producer's Guild, SAG Ensemble Award and the Oscar, that fact is all too clear in your mind. But again, why these awards are important is because they show what films have heat and what films don't. They can sometimes translate into Oscar success ("The Artist" in 2011, for example) but in a mixed bag of a year like this one, where there is no clear consensus, it's a total toss up.

So, let's examine the first round of winners, shall we?

Independent Spirit Award Nominations: "Carol," "Beasts of No Nation" and "Spotlight" Show Strength

The Independent Spirit Awards are hardly predictive of the Oscars; In many cases, they highlight the smaller films that get left out of the overall larger conversation. However, they're important to examine, because of how the high-profile films that do show up here.

So when a film like "Carol," one that is critically acclaimed but sort of an underdog when you look at people's Oscar predictions, leads the nomination count here, that's an important takeaway. It hardly means that the Golden Globes, critics and Oscars will follow the same path, but it shows where some of the heat and momentum is. For right now, at least.

Other leaders are the Netflix film, "Beasts of No Nation" and "Spotlight," while some presumed frontrunners fell a little flat. Take a look for yourself at the full list of nominations below.

"Brooklyn" Is Old School Hollywood Magic

Author Colin Toibin wrote in his novel, "Brooklyn" that his protagonist Ellis Lacey and her family could, "do everything except say out loud what they were thinking." In the film adaptation of that same novel, Academy Award nominee Saoirse Ronan makes this aspect of her character incredibly clear through her incredibly textured performance. Over the course of the movie's near two hour running time, we see the evolution and growth of a young woman in an unfamiliar land play out beautifully across her expressive face.

"Carol" Is A Gorgeous, Quietly Intense Love Story

"Carol," is a lot of things. It's an adaptation of the brilliant Patricia Highsmith novel "The Price of Salt." It's masterpiece in the purest sense of the word; It's Todd Haynes most handsome, affecting work to date. It's a showcase for Cate Blanchett, and evidence that she is truly the best actress working today. How she manages to still surprise us all film after film is a thrilling mystery. More important than all of that, is that it is one of the greatest love stories ever committed to film.

Adele Is Back With "25"

It's been about four years since we last heard from Adele, when she began her domination of the record industry. "21" came at a time when album sales were at an all time low. Not even albums by Beyoncé or Lady Gaga could sell as well as earlier efforts; To say the record industry was slogging is an understatement. But then Adele came, and her cross generational appeal combined with being absolutely different from the Gagas and the Katy Perrys of the world that were flooding the radios sent "21" to the top of the charts. It is now one of the best selling albums of all time, and to date has sold 30 million copies worldwide. It still is sitting pretty within the Billboard Top 100.

"Art Angels": Grimes' Fantastic Follow-up To "Visions"

When Grimes (Claire Boucher) released her ambient masterpiece "Visions," back in 2012 she was hailed as the next big thing. Standout tracks 'Oblivion' and 'Genesis' launched her into an internet sensation, and prompted Jay Z himself to sign her to his label, Roc Nation. "Visions" won acclaim from nearly every music journalist out there, posing the aggravating question that every artist must face following a successful record: 'How are you going to outdo yourself the next time around?'

"Room" Review

Life for 5-year-old Jack (newcomer Jacob Tremblay) and his ‘Ma’ (Brie Larson from “United States of Tara” and “21 Jump Street”) doesn’t extend outside of the 11-by-11 foot interior of a sealed, sound proof shed. They’ve been held captive for several years by a man only named as ‘Old Nick’. To Jack, this shed (aptly named, Room) is the whole world— at least that’s what his Ma has raised him to think. The truth of the situation is too much for anyone to bear, let alone a young child. 

The Curious Case of Leonardo DiCaprio

With each Oscar season that passes us by, Leonardo DiCaprio remains Oscar-less. It’s become a tradition of sorts, for the Academy to bestow the award to any one of the other actors nominated alongside DiCaprio. No matter how batty the role is, no matter what he had to do to prepare for it, or how hard he campaigns for it, nothing can seem to win the former teen heartthrob his beloved trophy.

At the risk of setting the actor up for failure, this might just be the year he takes home the gold. DiCaprio is starring in Oscar winner Alejandro González Iñárritu’s followup to the Oscar-winning “Birdman.” “The Revenant,” which co-stars Tom Hardy, focuses on a fur trapper, Hugh Glass [DiCaprio], in the 1820’s who is betrayed, robbed and left for dead by his accomplices following a deadly bear attack. The film follows Glass as he attempts to get his revenge. 

Though not opening to audiences until early next year, following a limited release starting on Christmas Day, buzz is naturally following the film and DiCaprio’s involvement. Reports say that awards analysts have been hired to strategically campaign the film for Oscars and see the film turns a profit after filming delays led to an expanded budget of $135 million. 

It remains to be seen if this will all come to pass, and whether or not DiCaprio’s past ‘snubs’ can carry him to a win after four losses. But has the actor really been ‘snubbed’ like everyone likes to think, or was the competition simply better? Let’s take a look by examining his nominated performances through the years. 

Natalie Portman's "Jane Got A Gun" Is FINALLY Happening

I'm sure a movie could be made just about the filmmaking process of the incredibly troubled "Jane Got A Gun." However, after countless director, actor release date AND distributor changes *sigh* the film has a trailer. It's happening!
Though Portman has been largely absent from the screen since collecting an Oscar and a billion other awards for "Black Swan" almost five years ago, save for a contractual appearance in the "Thor" films. With her directorial debut, "A Tale of Love and Darkness" awaiting release, and the announcement of her involvement in two buzzy biopics and now this, it would seem the actresses is coming back to the big screen guns blazing (no pun intended).

Portman plays Jane, a woman who is forced to team up with her ex-lover (Joel Egerton) when her outlaw of a husband is targeted by his gang's leader (Ewan McGregor).

Though I'm not exactly sure how the final product will pan out, the trailer is EXTREMELY focused on Portman (which is a good thing). This is unlike anything she's ever done before, so it's good to see the actress is still challenging herself after winning an Oscar.

Whatever the actual outcome, it's exciting to see Portman front and center in a project tailored to her.

Watch the trailer below. The film will (finally) be released in February. Hopefully the quality will supersede it's troubled journey to the screen.

A Competitive Year for Best Actress

The Oscar race for Best Actress in a Leading Role hasn’t been exciting since 2010, when Natalie Portman won for her performance in “Black Swan.” Since then, the category has been incredibly predictable. Meryl Streep, Jennifer Lawrence, Cate Blanchett and last year’s winner Julianne Moore had essentially been crowned long before the season had even begun, with little to no competition standing in their way of winning. 

This year, however, looks to change that. With the announcement that Alicia Vikander from, “The Danish Girl” will be campaigned in Supporting Actress, that leaves all five potential slots wide open for anyone to grab. Another pleasing bit of news is that this looks to be not only the most competitive race, but interesting in terms of roles. Many of the films in contention this year are female driven, which is a nice change of pace from the testosterone fest that was last year’s Best Picture race. 

Of the films that have premiered thus far, it’s a safe bet to say that Brie Larson is in the best position of landing a nomination, which would be her first ever. “Room” was something of a phenomenon after its incredible premiere at the Toronto Film Festival, where it won Best Picture. Larson has been on the bubble of breaking out for awhile, but given the large campaign that distributor A24 plans to mount in support of the film it seems like this will finally be her year. Her performance has been lauded as “astonishing,” and “remarkable,” and with the film being a strong contender in several other categories, seeing her miss here would be a surprise. Winning, however, is a different thing altogether. A24 has, unsuccessfully, tried entering the Oscar game before with films like “Spring Breakers” and “A Most Violent Year” so hold the applause until “Room” begins to expand to its theatrical release to see if it has strong word of mouth and box office performance. 

Larson’s strongest competitor, of the films that have been seen, is Saoirse Ronan whose performance in “Brooklyn” has been making waves since Sundance. Ronan, a previous nominee for 2007’s “Atonement,” has been receiving career best notices from the likes of The Hollywood Reporter and Variety, with the film’s Rotten Tomatoes score sitting pretty at 100%, calling her performance “outstanding.” The film’s central theme of coming of age is synonymous with Ronan’s own career as an actress. After winning acclaim as a child, she has since struggled with finding projects that suit her. “Brooklyn” seems to give the actress something to work with, and it’s pretty clear from the trailer that her maturity is showcased. This is another film  that will be a strong contender in several categories, including Picture, and the period element is something I predict Academy members will respond positively to. 

Also in contention is Lily Tomlin, who is experiencing something of a career resurgence with Netflix’s “Grace & Frankie” and her performance in the indie “Grandma.” Though reviews have been luminous, it remains to be seen if Tomlin can win awards attention for such a small film. Similarly, can Charlotte Rampling, who has never been nominated for an Oscar, translate career best reviews for “45 Years” into Oscar success despite the film’s small size? Controversy aside, “Suffragette” has previous nominee Carey Mulligan leading the female led cast towards the Oscars, but I’m not sure if the film can overcome the horrific press tour it’s been having. Cate Blanchett will have to face competition between her two performances in “Carol” and “Truth,” and though the internet wants Charlize Theron to be recognized for “Mad Max,” I’m not sure the Academy is ready to go all out for a genre film. It sounds crazy, but they’re more likely to embrace it in Best Picture or Best Director. 

Waiting in the wings to shake things up, however, is Hollywood’s favorite It Girl Jennifer Lawrence. Though you may have laughed at the idea that her Oscar submission this year was a biopic about the creator of the Miracle Mop, Lawrence and director/writer David O. Russell are clearly pulling out all the stops. This marks Lawrence’s third collaboration with O.Russell, the previous two being “Silver Linings Playbook” (which won her an Oscar) and “American Hustle” (which saw her almost winning another Oscar).

The trailer, which was cut to resemble a Scorsese movie, sparked a huge question of whether Lawrence would be in the running this year or not. But after the film’s secret screening last week, it’s clear she’s back, and stands a good chance of running away with the whole race… at least that’s what I’m hearing. Erik Anderson of awardswatch.com was lucky enough to be present at this screening, and called the film: 

“David O. Russell’s best film since ‘Three Kings… It’s such a director’s film and I think a culmination of everything from DOR’s career so far plus more… 100% Jennifer Lawrence show- in every scene. Could easily win… such a rich, complex story that, I think, doesn’t hold the audience’s hands.” 

The film does not premiere until Christmas Day, and will not screen at any high-profile festivals or events before then, so it’s important to take things like this with a grain of salt. But the fact that Lawrence is an Academy favorite at such a young age, and is assured to be in another box office success this year with the final “Hunger Games” film is something foolish to bet against; It’s the same formula that won her the award in 2012. 

I, for one, do not consider myself foolish, so I won’t be saying Lawrence is going to miss for this one. However, I don’t think this is going to be the cakewalk it was for her back in 2012. On the contrary, if Lawrence wants that second Oscar, she’s not going to be able to coast on simply a good performance, she’s going to have to campaign for it. And hard. 

Album Review: Selena Gomez, "Revival"

Best known for her hit Disney Channel show, "Wizards of Waverley Place", a pop music career seemed inevitable for Selena Gomez. She was primed to follow fellow Disney Channel stars Miley Cyrus and Demi Lovato, both of whom established themselves in the world of pop music after toiling away pandering to children. Cyrus, the most successful (for lack of a better word), has all but thrown out that wig from her Hannah Montanna days, and established herself as a controversial figure, the bad girl of pop, something she clearly relishes. Lovato hasn't seen the career highs Cyrus has seen, but has an undeniable voice and a savvy for working her own struggles and setbacks in life into her music.

But Gomez is a much more questionable figure in the world of pop. She's done empowerment ('Who Says'), and hinted at incorporating her sexuality into her music ('Come & Get It') but ultimately has never established just who she is; As an artist, Gomez has always been molded by her songs, rather than molding the songs to her. Her last album, "Stars Dance", did little to advance her as an artist. Rather, it was a collection of songs that sounded like a pale imitation of Rihanna (which is funny considering many of the songs were offered to Rihanna before they landed in Gomez's catalog).

Since then, Gomez has changed labels. "Revival", the first release since she left Hollywood Records, is a career high for the singer, and finally gives listeners a glimpse of the singers behind the songs.

Category Fraud Runs Amok Through Oscar Season

It seems that with each passing Oscar season, incidents of category fraud grow more common, and the conversation around it growing louder.

For those of you who may not be familiar with the  term, "category fraud" is when an actor or actress is campaigned for awards in the wrong category. It's usually done to avoid "internal competition", which is campaigning two performances from the same movie, or simply a case of the studio going with the less competitive category.

"Sicario" Is A Total Knockout

"Sicario" begins with one of the most quietly mesmerizing opening sequences in recent history. Kate Macer (Emily Blunt), an FBI agent leads a house raid in Arizona connected to the drug cartel responsible for kidnapping a group of hostages. What ensues, however, is anything but what Kate or her team expected; an all 'too easy' shoot out, rows and rows of dead bodies hidden behind the walls and a deafening explosion. The film's booming (but never overbearing) score by the always reliable Jóhann Jóhannsson lingers over the scene. It's clear to us that the team further from finding there target than before they started.

State of the Oscar Race

The Toronto Film Festival may be over, but awards season is just getting started. A bunch of potential Oscar players made a splash to the delight of critics and bloggers everywhere.

There were some notable surprises, but nothing that truly bombed; save for a few films, the big names more or less performed how they were expected to.

And then there were some films (the Rooney Mara/Cate Blanchett drama "Carol" for one) that decided to skip the festival altogether. That hardly matters; With Harvey Weinstein behind you, your film is assured some kind of nomination.

Here are a few of the biggest takeaways post-TIFF; Where do the current players stand?